Marvel Legends House of X Cyclops figure review

March 8, 2021March 6, 2021 Jeffrey Lyles 0 Comments Cyclops, Hasbro, House of X, Marvel Legends, X-Men

Jonathan Hickman’s House of X Cyclops had me at simply not being portrayed as the worst mutant ever. While some of the Hickman X-era has left me a little cold at least he’s done right by my favorite X-Man.

Cyclops is back to being the man in front of the man similar to his original portrayal in X-Men. In some ways it’s a demotion from his Utopia run mutantkind phase, but at least he’s not trying to wipe out everything under Phoenix’s influence either. Since I dig his current attire, getting the House of X Cyclops was a big stretch for me. Let’s see how this version matches up with the rest of my Marvel Legends Cyke figures.

Packaging: The Krakoan language and white accents makes for a striking packaging that stands out from the norm.

marvel legends house of x cyclops figure review - package front

marvel legends house of x cyclops figure review - package rear

marvel legends house of x cyclops figure review - package side

I really like the artwork on these from Pepe Larraz and Marte Gracia as it showcases the character well. The bio sets the stage from the first issue of House of X with the crazy opening sequence that leaves Cyclops’ team in a very bad way.

Likeness: It’s too late into Cyclops production for Hasbro to introduce a new buck so he’s still using the now sorta vintage Bucky Cap body with some new gauntlets and belt for his House of X look. The belt is reused from the House of X Magneto to provide a little team visual continuity.

Cyclops’ head sculpt is reused from the stellar Cyclops/Dark Phoenix two-pack. I’m partial to this head sculpt as it captures Cyke’s calm, calculated demeanor perfectly.

marvel legends house of x cyclops figure review - with x-factor and cockrum cyclops

marvel legends house of x cyclops figure review - facing x-factor and cockrum cyclops

I like the addition of the gauntlets as they visually tease the flared gloves from the Cockrum/Byrne attire with some modern flourishes.

Paint: One of the highlights of this attire is the color scheme, which keeps the dark blue base with light blue accents instead of his classic yellow. It’s a new era, but Cyke has traditionally been in blue and this color scheme fits his past while recognizing his mutant outlaw past with blue instead of red — and the horrendous red X on his cowl — from his “terrorist” phase.

marvel legends house of x cyclops figure review - front

marvel legends house of x cyclops figure review - rear

marvel legends house of x cyclops figure review - right side

marvel legends house of x cyclops figure review - left side

The lining on this outfit could have been tricky, but Hasbro knocked it out with clean linework throughout. This light blue could have been a problem with bleed through so it was nice to see Hasbro didn’t skimp on the paint apps to ensure the base blue didn’t peek through. Hasbro used a touch of that pearlescent paintwork for his outfit, which gives it a little extra pop.

Cyke’s smaller details like the belt buckle and the light blue effects on the gauntlet came out clean as well.

Scale: Cyclops is normally considered the baseline height for the X-Men so as long as he’s taller than Wolverine and shorter than Colossus, I’m fine.

Articulation: You probably know the articulation strengths and weaknesses of this base body more than any other Marvel Legends figure at this point. The lack of butterfly shoulders is a bit frustrating for a 2021 figure and the smaller feet make finding the balancing sweet spot trickier than necessary.

Those problems aside you won’t have much trouble striking solid poses with this figure.

House of X Cyclops has:

neck
ball-jointed shoulders
elbow (double-jointed)
wrist
wrist hinge
torso
waist
hip
thigh
knee (double-jointed)
ankle

Accessories: Cyclops gets a decent amount of accessories. He’s got the angry optic blasting head previously seen on the X-Factor Retro version.

I dig this one since it shows Cyke a little fired up and allows for the placement of the separate optic blast effect piece. It’s made of a translucent red and is long enough that it conveys his power at work.

Finally, he’s got the left arm for the Build-A-Figure Tri-Sentinel from the presumed future of the X-Men.

Worth it? Target had a buy 2, get 1 free sale on figures including pre-orders so I got the entire wave with that awesome deal. Getting each figure for $13.33 worked out to Black Friday prices so it’s hard to complain.